The Demon in the Sword
by Tariki Rania
Summary: Yami was the prince of a kingdom who'd forced him to leave and live as a traveler in the woods. His life gets changed when he meets someone there. YYY SJ RB MYM &character death
1. The Departure of Sogoroku reuploaded

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The Demon in the Sword  
  
By: Tariki Rania  
  
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I don't own YuGiOh. Leave me alone.  
  
I own just the plot. This is based on a true story.  
  
Summary: Yami was the prince of a kingdom who'd forced him to leave and live as a traveler in the woods. His life gets changed when he meets someone there. Y/YY & character death  
  
"blah"= speech, (A/N: blah)= authors note, ~~blah~~= thoughts  
  
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Yami frowned at the birds that were chirping eagerly. They were obviously trying to get him to talk to them.  
  
"I won't talk to you." Yami said flatly, oblivious that he was. "When your feathers grow you'll leave me too, just like Jii-san. . ." Suddenly his crimson eyes widened; he had to go get something very special.  
  
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"Sogoroku, Ruler of the Mutou Empire and Kingdom has converted to Zoroastrianism and will be going on his walk to purity today after giving away his material possessions." An official looking man announced as Sogoroku removed his jewelry and gave it to the beggars. Suddenly a bunch of children came running to Sogoroku. These where his hundred grandchildren. (I don't give how many affairs he had. O_OU)  
  
"Jii-san!! Yami has your sword, he says it's his!" Said his son's most favored child, Bakura. Sogoroku frowned.  
  
"Is this true?" He asked; his grandson Malik nodded his head vigorously. Sogoroku sighed and went to go confront Yami, the eight-year- old boy was sitting atop a rock and holding the sword tightly.  
  
"NO! If you go I keep your sword!" Yami shouted his eyes filling with tears. Sogoroku placed an arm around Yami's shoulder.  
  
"Yami. This is not just a sword; it is a demon. When drawn it hungers blood," Sogoroku said as he unsheathed the blade. It was a cloudy, thick silver sword with intricate patterns on it. "It sees no friend or foe. It sees only blood." He said as he sheathed it. " Before it can do anymore trouble, let us dispose of it." He said as he walked over to the quickly moving river that was beside the rocks and tossed it in, hoping for it to never fall into innocent hands.  
  
Yami twitched as he watched the famous sword fall into the cold water, that sword had been through many tough battles and wars. It was a clearly dangerous item, which was why Bakura wanted it. Yami wanted it because his father said it was the road to becoming an emperor, but more importantly he didn't want his older half brother, Bakura to get his hands on it.  
  
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Sogoroku slowly pulled the hood of his white garments on. He turned around to take his last glance at the family whom he cared about. Only one of them caught his eye though, it was his tri-colored grandson, Yami. The small boy had one lone crystal tear trickle down his cheek, like a small stream that had been separated from his river. Yami cried silently with his mother as they watched Sogoroku, the founder of the Mutou Empire disappear into the crowd of white figures, never to return to Mutou Kingdom [1] as an emperor.  
  
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Yami waded in the rapids of the river; he was searching for something important. The baby birds watched his antics with interest and chirped with laughter as a surge of water hit Yami in his attempt to find the sword. Yami glared up at the tree as he blew one of his golden bangs out of his eyes so it would be a proper death glare, not some feeble attempt at one. He had it going pretty well, until another wave of water smacked him on the head. The birds roared with laughter.  
  
"Shut up!" Yami shouted, "Stop laughing! I will find that sword!" He said crossly. He put his hands on his waist and scanned the area while blowing his bangs out of his face. Finally, something shiny caught his eye. He waded over to where the object was with interest. It seemed to be wedged down between two rocks. He stuck his hands into the cold water to see if he could identify the item. It was made of a hard substance. Metal probably. He tugged at it until it came free. It was the sword! He grinned as he unsheathed it. He could _feel_ the power. It was indeed the sword that had belonged to Sogoroku. He let out a triumphant cry as he stabbed the sky with the sword.  
  
He ran onto the dry land and began to expertly wave the sword from side to side in a 'figure eight' motion when suddenly it flew out of his hands!!! (A/N: gasp) His eyes widened in horror as it flew toward the tree that the baby birds and their nest were in!! (A/N: T_T) The birds chirped, totally unaware of what would happen next. The sword was nearing the nest . . . . . . . . . Yami knew exactly what was going to happen next, he also knew that his grandfather was right.  
  
Finally the sword began to pummel towards the tree . . . . . . Blade first. The sword grazed the top of the nest and stabbed the earth, vibrating from its ride. Feathers were floating to the ground, with bloodstains on them. Yami shook his head in disbelief, but it was too late for the birds. The sword stood there, vibrating ever so slightly. It was indeed guilty, and it was proud to show it's massacring souvenir; a small white feather stuck to the blade with blood.  
  
~~"This is not just a sword; it is a demon. When drawn it hungers blood, it sees no friend or foe. It sees only blood."~~  
  
Yami stared at the sword tears cascading down his cheeks. The demon of the sword was hungry. . . . . . Hungry for blood, and it would indeed be provided with plenty of it . . . . . .  
  
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I hope that you enjoyed this chappie! Please review!!!!  
  
[1]- I changed the name of the kingdom since I am horrible at Japanese. Thanks Gin Ryu-chan for correcting me! 


	2. The War Against Takshilla

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The Demon in the Sword  
  
By: Tariki Rania  
  
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I don't, and probably never will own YuGiOh.  
  
Summary: Yami was the prince of a kingdom who'd forced him to leave and live as a traveler in the woods. His life gets changed when he meets someone there. Y/YY & character death  
  
"Blah"= speech, (A/N: blah)= authors note, ~~blah~~= thoughts, ~*~*~=scene transition  
  
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------------------------Ten years later . . .Yami is now eighteen----------- -------------------  
  
Prince Yami stabbed the ground with his grandfather's sword, or at least it _was_. Now it was his. He twirled the sword making swirls in the dirt. A sharp voice pulled him out of his daydreams.  
  
"The Takshilla Army is nearing, and their numbers are greater than ours." General Shivrath said to Prince Yami. Yami reached into his pocket and pulled out a hollow stick of papyrus. He stuck it into his mouth and blew a dart out of it and hit a target in the dead center. He removed it from his mouth, and gave Shivrath a reproachful look.  
  
"There may be safety in numbers, but skill and strategy are better." Yami said darkly. " We will win. We will win at all costs." He tossed the reed at him, "Let them come. They will have to cross the Nile first, let's give them a warm welcome." He smirked and left.  
  
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The Takshilla soldiers were crossing the Nile in long canoe-like boats. Each soldier was paddling in tune with the beating drums; the drums were used to keep the pace. Also to keep in an alert mode they chanted in tune with the drums.  
  
"Takshilla Army! Keep on moving, keep on going!" Perhaps it kept them alert in most cases, but in this battle they were confident they would win because of their numbers. In fact, they were so convinced they were going to win they didn't see the fleet of papyrus reeds approaching them . . . . .  
  
The ducks, sensing something was afoot started to paddle away, a really alert person would immediately notice the disturbance in the river, but the Takshilla didn't. Suddenly the papyrus jumped revealing the hidden Mutou Army [1]. It was an ambush! It was too late for the Takshilla to react quickly, the Mutou Army started to pull the Takshilla into the water and drown them or kill them with swords and daggers. The Takshilla Army had been attacked and many were killed, but they continued to paddle furiously across the Nile to attack the Mutou Kingdom. The blood of the Takshilla colored the river red that day, almost as red as the fiery flames of hell.  
  
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"Prince Yami, the Takshilla are approaching at an amazing speed. You won't be able to stay here and play games with yourself [2]." General Shivrath said. Yami was holding a flaming twig and was trying to throw it into the golden bowl of water before it burnt him; it was pretty risky because if he missed he would burn their camp down.  
  
"We will win Shivrath. I know you enjoy those old fashioned charge-at- each-other-and-play-a-no-strategy-war. But I would rather be a little more cunning and make them die slow and painfully." He turned his head so he could observe the general's expression. He smirked; it was rather clueless. He turned back to his game, "You may think of war as brute strength, ne?" Since Shivrath was silent Yami continued, "I don't think of it as a strength at all." He tossed the stick into the bowl effortlessly. "War, it is just a game for young boys to play." With that he tossed Shivrath a bag of flints. "Just a game Shivrath. Just a game." He stood up and left the room.  
  
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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The Takshilla were running for their lives! They were pretty sure that Prince Yami was insane, his army were setting logs on fire than pushing them down hill to where the Takshilla were. The Takshilla army was getting plowed and burnt by the falling logs; they would have run away helter-skelter but they were in the forest, which made it hard for them to jump out of the way. Still, half of the army still carried on.  
  
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"Prince Yami, the Takshilla have lowered their flags. They now want to surrender." Shivrath said. Yami had been sitting with his sword's hilt against his forehead (He's kinda leaning on it, hope it isn't too confusing). The cool metallic surface was very calming against one's head, but Yami was sitting like that out of habit. He was completely calm and confident; he knew he was going to win. He opened his eyes and smirked.  
  
"I think the enemy deserves a chance, don't you?" Yami sheathed his sword and gave Shivrath a cocky smile before he turned and went to meet the Takshilla general.  
  
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Two swords were stabbed into the ground in an x shape; one was Yami's the other was Takshilla's. The Takshilla leader held a small spear.  
  
"Prince Yami. Takshilla's flags have been lowered. We wish to surrender to your greatness." The Takshilla leader stepped closer to the swords. He had a nervous look in his eyes. "We bow our heads to the Mutou." He started to lower his head when suddenly he whipped his spear around his body, the sheath of the weapon hurtling towards Yami's head. Yami caught the bronze cover and just in time and tossed it on the ground. The Takshilla leader prepared to gorge his spear into Yami's eye. Yami's eyes widened as he saw the weapon come closer to his eye. He grabbed the blade at the last second, "You will surrender to Takshilla!" The leader shouted as he pushed the blade closer to Yami's eye. "The weapon is with me, you shall die!"  
  
. . .TBC . . .  
  
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[1]- If you read the re-uploaded chapter one you'll know that the new name is 'Kingdom Mutou/Mutou Kingdom  
  
[2]- Okay. The tossing fire sticks and the papyrus target thing were both very dangerous games for our Yugioh to play.  
  
Rania: Muahahahahahaha! A cliffie! So our odds are that Yami will somehow get that blade out of his face or he will die with only one eye. Please read and review!! 


	3. The New Assassin

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The Demon in the Sword  
  
By: Tariki Rania  
  
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I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts! Dee- dly- dee. There they are all standing in a row! Bum, bum, bum. Big ones! Small ones! Some even bigger than your head. Eh? Oh. No I don't own YuGiOh. U_U  
  
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I am soooooooo sorry!! I took so long to update U_U! Please forgive me!! Here's chapter three! Yayness!! I thank all you wonderful reviewers, well. . . I _had_ 13 reviews originally, but fanfiction deleted six of my reviews! _. Well. That's that. On with the chappie!  
  
Warning: some violence  
  
"Blah"=speech, ~~Blah~~=thoughts, (A/N: Blah)=authoress' stupid rants/comments, [Blah]=something to be translated or explained at the end.  
  
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Yami struggled against the blade. As you know it is upsetting to die with only one eye so he pushed on the spear as hard as he could.  
  
"Resistance is futile! The weapon is with me," the Takshilla leader growled,  
  
"That's no weapon." Yami said as he summoned all his strength and pushed the spear away. "This is a weapon." He said as he pulled a whip out of his belt. This was no ordinary whip though; in place of the leather straps were thin strips of sharp metal, making it a deadly object. The Takshilla's eyes widened. Yami shook the handle making an eerie rattling noise caused by the two blades. The Takshilla slowly started to back away, but the Mutou stopped them. Yami smirked and immediately launched his attack on the Takshilla Army. They screamed in pain as Yami's whip cut through their flesh and splattered the ground with blood. Yami did not hear their pleas; he saw red (A/N: *cough*blood*cough*). He lashed his weapon around himself making a bubble of death; though no one bothered trying to attack him they were worried about themselves. So Yami lunged at the Takshilla and gorged them with the whip of steel. Within seconds all of the Takshilla army had been killed and their corpses lay at random angles with blood dripping from their wounds. Yami did a back flip over the bodies and smirked at the sight that was laid out before them. He turned to his commanding officers, "Move out." He said as he turned and left. Shivrath looked nervously at the dead Takshilla soldiers,  
  
". . .I have f-failed. ."  
  
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Horns sounded as Prince Yami's army rode into the Mutou Kingdom on their horses. Yami himself leading them on his white horse; Pawan [1]. The subjects cheered for their prince's success. Yami beamed at all of the citizens as he raised Sogoroku's sword high above his head proudly.  
  
His brother and one of his half-brothers greeted Yami at the door to his father's palace. His half-brothers were the high priest Seto, and his other half-brother was one of the generals, named Chimeisho.  
  
Seto was dressed in his royal priest attire. Seto's dark cerulean eyes were shining with the bliss that he had only shown to his mother, Yami, Chimeisho (sometimes), and his lover, whom had disappeared a couple years ago. The effect of this sudden departure had damaged Seto's heart so badly that he barely showed emotion anymore. His robes were a majestic dark blue with a silvery sheen, and golden hems on the fringes of his robes. His priest hat was tall and somewhat cone-shaped with what looked like a golden cobra on the front. Yami, Chimeisho, Malik, and Bakura had all joked about it making his look big when they were smaller (A/N: and when they were on friendlier terms XP). Seto had not been pleased with their observations.  
  
Chimeisho was Bakura's brother (A/N: U_U I didn't want to make them twins, but that was the best sketch I could make. It looked way too much like Bakura so they're related someway or another.); he was younger though; which made him not as important as his brother (A/N: XD). His and Bakura's features were almost identical, but Bakura definitely looked a lot more mean than Chimeisho. Chimeisho hair was not pure white; it was streaked with black throughout his waist length locks. Seto, Yami, Bakura, and Malik had nicknamed him 'skunk-head' when they were smaller (A/N: *rewinds tape* and when they were on friendlier terms XP). Chimeisho had killed a servant to express his, ummm. . . displeasure. Chimeisho was wearing a simple light blue tunic with loose navy pants and a black hooded cloak. His dark indigo eyes were narrowed slightly, but his unsatisfied expression lifted slightly when Seto pointed Yami out to him. His work had been rather stressful lately.  
  
(A/N: Do you think I make too many author notes?)  
  
Yami smiled slightly as he ran up the stairs to the temple where the other two had stood. They gave him their congrats on winning against the Takshilla [2]. Yami shrugged as modestly as he could (A/N: which wasn't much, mind you.) and said it wasn't that hard. Seto raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow so high it flew up to his brunette colored hairline.  
  
"I'm not too sure about that. The Takshilla was by far one of the largest armies in the country." Chimeisho nodded slightly in agreement before nodding in what would have been a sleepy voice if not for the fact that he was awake and spoke in a somewhat bitter tone.  
  
"Of course it shouldn't have been an easy battle. The Takshilla Army is twice the size of ours. That is," he smirked slightly "that is unless you've been playing games... . ." He and Seto snickered at Yami's speechless reaction. Yami however quickly recovered himself and shook his head quickly.  
  
"N-no! I wasn't! I was just using my typical strategies. . ." Yami's voice trailed off. Chimeisho sniggered.  
  
"So you're saying that the way you deal with war is by using your game strategies?" Seto teased knowingly. Yami started to give him a death glare, but; as usual it was interrupted by the usual breeze. Which, as it usually did, blew his usually neat golden bangs in to his face. As usual. (A/N: XD) The three burst into laughter just before one of the maids; a girl with clear blue eyes came up to them a bit nervously.  
  
"Um, Prince Yami? You've been summoned to the throne room by the ph- pharaoh." She stuttered. Yami nodded and dismissed her. Seto gave Yami a rather impressed look.  
  
"So, you've been called upon eh? I'll bet my hat that father's going to give you somewhat of a lead against Bakura in ruling our lands [3]." Chimeisho gave Seto a rather disgruntled look.  
  
"I wouldn't bet on it." Chimeisho muttered under his breath. Seto raised an eyebrow slightly.  
  
"Is that a challenge?"  
  
Yami shook his head and silently started to stroll to his chambers to change his clothes [4]. Behind him Seto and Chimeisho were heavily engaged in one of their shouting matches. Yami rolled his eyes. "They're such idiots."  
  
However, unbeknownst to the three, sitting up high in a tree something, or someone was watching the three rather intently. The same thing was happening in the north tower, except we can identify them. It was our two psychotic half-brothers: Malik and Bakura. [5]  
  
"Heheheheh. They think they can get the advantage in power by winning a war do they? Well they're wrong, oh so terribly wrong. . ." Bakura said psychotically. Malik nodded and laughed,  
  
"Ha! They crack me up! Haha!"  
  
Bakura and Malik sat sniggering with fiendish excitement; when suddenly Bakura remembered something. "WHAT!!!!????" He bellowed jumping a foot in the air. "HOW COULD THEY HAVE WON?!?!" Malik immediately caught on and turned towards Bakura.  
  
" He failed his mission!!" Bakura nodded.  
  
"He will pay. . ." Bakura said softly. Malik leaned against the wall thoughtfully.  
  
"But, how shall we torture him?" Malik paused "We've done all the ideas we came up with and more. . ." His voice trailed away. The two brothers looked around the room. Thinking hard. It wasn't hard to torture people, but it was the way you tortured them and how they reacted that was difficult to predict. Bakura's eyes wandered over to a carving on one of the tablets inserted into the wall. He skimmed through it boredly; it was just some crap about the soldier's creed and junk like that.  
  
~~Hmmm. . . The soldier is a proud figure who is loyal to the end. . What kind of shit is this?~~ Bakura snorted. This particular soldier had said he would be eternally loyal to him. . . ~~Never trust what you read~~ Bakura thought crossly. Although he was now positive that this was just some trash, he continued to read on. ~~A soldier's pride is very important. The confidence a soldier contains determines how-yadda yadda yadda-a soldier never lowers his head and-~~ Bakura froze, a sinister plot slowly started to form in his head. He turned to Malik, an evil smirk on his face.  
  
"Our plan has been formed." With that he walked over to the wall next to him and ripped some chains off the wall, yup. He ripped them right out of their cement filled holes. He turned to Malik, "Grab my daggers." He said nodding over to where a large leather bag was sitting on the floor.  
  
Malik nodded but then grinned and reached into the pouch that hung on his waist. He pulled out a relatively large knife out and casually stroked his hair with it. He turned to Bakura, "He will not know what hit him. And." He paused to finger his knife, "Neither will Yami. ." He turned around suddenly and flung the knife right at Bakura, except a little to the side hitting a statue right where it's heart would have been.  
  
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Right. Well anyway back to Yami. . .  
  
Yami slowly walked down towards the throne room. The hallways were barely lit; usually they had a good amount of burning torches, as the hot Egyptian sun was much to harsh for the inhabitants of the palace to cope with so much heat for so long. Yami was slightly surprised how dark it was though; he smiled slightly. He liked the darkness quite a bit, it was said that the majority of the Royal Mutou family had excellent vision at night or in dark places. He had been so warped up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the soldier guarding the throne room looking at him funny. Yami blinked and coughed loudly. The guard jumped and opened the door to Yami. Yami gave it a chance and gave the guard a death glare. It was unusually successful (A/N: There I go with my usual-{ly}-s again . . .). Yami still grinning at his success walked right into the room.  
  
Yami's father, brother, mother, Chimeisho, Bakura, Malik, Chimeisho's, Bakura's, and Malik's mothers were all in the grand throne room along with the twitchy maid (A/N: ya know, the blue eyed one) and several other servants. Yami kneeled before his father and held Sogoroku's sword in hand he kept his eyes low then silently waited for recognition. His father chuckled slightly and made a gesture with his hand to give Yami the sign to rise. Yami raised his head and showed the bloodstained sword. His father smiled and reached for the ring on his finger and was about to remove it [6], when Bakura and Malik's mothers both grabbed his arm and gave him somewhat threatening looks. The king looking somewhat disappointed stopped removing his ring and dismissed them all. Yami somewhat crestfallen touched his head with the cool blade of the sword and got up. Everyone slowly filled out of the room; Yami could have sworn however that he heard Seto and Chimeisho snapping at each other for something.  
  
"Ha! I won the bet Seto!"  
  
"Shoot, I guess you won my hat."  
  
"Hell no! You think I would wear something as ugly and cone headed as that?!"  
  
Yami snorted and was about to turn down the hallway when he felt someone staring at him, he whipped around to see Bakura and Malik glaring at him. Yami frowned slightly; but continued on his way outside. However, the feeling of eyes watching him didn't end.  
  
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After Yami had turned a corner Malik nodded at Bakura after looking around the corner. Malik ran over to a large potted tree that was sitting in the corner with Bakura hot on his heals. The two reached behind it and pulled out an unconscious body. The body had apparently been gagged and knocked out cold. Their handiwork of course. They dragged the body down to the dungeons and made a couple adjustments to the torture chamber, just to make it fulfill their needs.  
  
-Three hours later-  
  
Malik and Bakura waited silently for their victim to awake. When it finally did come to, they had almost fallen asleep in boredom. Bakura, hearing movement from the chains looked over at his and Malik's prey.  
  
"Ah," He said. "You're awake." Malik's head snapped into attention and grinned at the victim's expression. Pure terror. Malik got up and admired his and Bakura's work. The victim was chained _flat_ against the wall. Directly opposite of him was a whole horde of knives, daggers, swords, spears, and other pointy objects had their hilts carefully inserted into the walls. Making it impossible to lean against the walls. Malik approached the victim and ripped the cloth covering his mouth off.  
  
"Shivrath. Supreme general Shivrath, very nice of you to see us here." Malik said as he quietly slipped a dagger out of the wall and put it in his back pocket for later. Bakura smirked at the terrified Shivrath. He strolled casually up to Shivrath and fixed him a cold harsh glare.  
  
"So, you failed. Didn't you? You said that if we sent Yami to Takshilla he'd die." Bakura said in a dangerously soft voice. Shivrath didn't answer. Bakura smirked slightly, "You thought you could escape us, didn't you?" Still no reply. Getting a little impatient Malik sighed and cleared his throat in such a way that it sounded like 'kill him'. Shivrath's eyes widened. Bakura looked at Malik and shook his head. "No, the soldier's head must be lowered." With that he walked up to Shivrath and removed all of the badges that he had earned from the triumphant wars. He smiled evilly at Shivrath as he threw the medals and badges aside.  
  
"You will carry no honor with you to the afterlife. That is, if you can make it." Malik said as he approached Shivrath with a long sharp silver sword, it was Shivrath's own sword. He smirked at Shivrath's terrified face. He put the sword on the ground and snapped his fingers, the sword; as though lifted by a ghostly hand floated off the ground and positioned itself at Shivrath's throat. Then right as the sword had stationed itself Shivrath felt a sharp pain in his side he peered over and saw to his horror his warm blood trickling out of a wound that Malik had just made with his dagger. Shivrath's head was now lowered. He had lost his dignity, his spirit was broken, and he was starring at the stab where his liver probably was. Bakura grinned.  
  
"Okay. Now he can die." He and Malik strolled out of the room, but before they left they used their magic to make the wall that was filled with the weapons slowly start to close in on Shivrath [7]. The door was silently shut and the two half-brothers pressed their ears against the door and smiled in satisfaction at the screams of pain coming from the other side. They waited patiently for the screaming to stop, and when it did the opened the door and blinked at the bloody pulp that had once been Shivrath. Malik sighed, "I guess we have to clean our artillery all over again." Bakura nodded as he yanked a spear out of Shivrath's chest. "Darn right, you know how the chamber maids are with blood. . ."  
  
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Outside the palace two guards were standing on guard while trying to shoo Seto's little brother Mokuba into the palace so that they wouldn't be held responsible for him. So far all their begging was pointless, Mokuba insisted that he stayed outside with them. The first guard had an incredibly tall pointy hairdo that was a dark brown color. The other guard had long unruly ebony hair that was tied in a ponytail and held by a dirty rag. The first had russet eyes and the second had emerald.  
  
"Puh-leeeeaaaaaasssse Master Mokuba! Please go inside!!!!" the first guard moaned; he'd been trying to get rid of the kid for seven hours already. But the stubborn boy shook his head defiantly, his fluffy black hair flying in all directions.  
  
"No way Honda!!! I am not leaving this spot!!!" He shouted, when he saw the other guard trying to sneak up on him and take him away he dodged right when the guard lunged at him. The guard was rewarded with a mouthful of sand. "Nice try Otogi, but I'm not moving! And nothing you guys do will make me leave!!" Mokuba said as he crossed his arms and glared at the two guards. Honda sighed as Otogi hacked on the sand in his mouth; he knew that they couldn't get rid of the little bugger. Only High Priest Seto could do that.  
  
"Oh boys!!!" It was one of the chambermaids. Kujaku Mai. She was holding a basket filled with who knows what and her long blond hair was sleek and shiny. She surprisingly wasn't wearing the maid uniform today; instead she was wearing some beautifully made clothes that appeared to be made of silk. She was smiling in a sort of pleased way at how stunned they were at her wonderful fashion sense. They're jaws had dropped and they were gabbling like idiots. "Well boys, what do you think of my outfi-"  
  
"Wow! I never knew your hair was blonde!!" Honda exclaimed looking remotely surprised. Otogi shook his head.  
  
"Her hair was always blonde. It was just so dirty it looked brown!" Both doubled over in laughter at Otogi's joke. Mai's eyes narrowed.  
  
"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!" She bellowed, both Otogi and Honda silenced immediately. Mokuba smiled,  
  
"You look great today Mai, what's the occasion?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah Mai. What's up?" Otogi asked finally noticing the outfit. Mai smiled secretly.  
  
"Nothing. . ."  
  
"Aww, come on. There's got to be a reason why you're all dressed up." Honda argued. Mai stroked his face. "Should I tell you?" She asked flirtatiously. Honda and Otogi nodded eagerly. Mai smiled and smacked Honda across his face with all the strength she could muster. Mokuba snickered.  
  
"Want more?" Mai asked; Otogi shook his head immediately. Mokuba smiled slightly;  
  
"S'okay they'll share it." Mokuba said, deciding to help the two morons for once. Mai smirked lightly.  
  
"You boys better smarten up! Princes Bakura and Yami are at each others throats, if you want to survive you have to get some brains!!" With that Mai turned smartly on her heel and left. Mokuba grinned at the leaving figure that had slapped Honda. Otogi blinked.  
  
"Well, I guess I better go;" Mokuba said "Seto'll need help keeping Yami under control." With that Mokuba skipped off to go visit his brother. Honda turned toward Otogi,  
  
"I'll bet Bakura will finish Yami off this year." Honda said thoughtfully. Otogi shook his head,  
  
"I was eaves-dropping on one of the other priestesses. You know, Isis? Malik's sister?" Honda blinked. "Well anyway, she was talking to several other apprentices of hers. She said it was in the stars that Yami should triumph." Otogi said knowledgably. Honda shook his head with a sigh. "The stars never lie Honda!" Otogi said as he waved a finger in front of Honda's face. Honda pushed Otogi's hand out of his view and groaned,  
  
"Damn your stars, Bakura will win."  
  
"Yami!"  
  
"Bakura!"  
  
"Yami!"  
  
"Bakura!"  
  
"YAMI!!!" Otogi bellowed as he stabbed Honda's foot with his spear.  
  
"OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHH!!!!!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malik and Bakura sat in the dungeons after a very stressful session of cleaning. Both were exhausted, and rather annoyed. They had scheduled a meeting with an assassin, and he had yet to arrive. They sat boredly on the stretching rack sharpening knives and similar things until they heard a light knock on the door.  
  
"Enter!" Malik said in a cold voice. A figure cloaked with shadows streaked into the room. Trailing a path of death behind them.  
  
"I'm here for my mission." The figure said in a voice that seemed to be smack in the middle of the genders. Bakura sighed and took a candle from the chandelier.  
  
"You're rather late, don't you think?" Bakura asked sharply, his violet eyes flashing dangerously. The figure seemed a little uncomfortable.  
  
"I. .I had to wait a bit to speak to my contact. . ." The figure said nervously. Malik frowned mentally; something was not right about this person. Bakura shrugged off Malik's suspicious looks and turned to the assassin.  
  
"You know your mission, right?" He asked.  
  
The figure's expression brightened "Oh, yes I do!!" He/She said. Malik sighed slightly. Although this person did not seem trustworthy, it was quite possible that they could, at least try to kill Prince Yami. Malik peered curiously at the figures hooded face; it was consumed in shadows. The figure seemed to feel his gaze, for they spoke in a menacing tone; "My secrets shall prevail." They said. Obviously trying to rid Malik of his questions.  
  
Bakura stared at Malik and the assassin; there was clearly some tension in the room so he dismissed the assassin after giving him/her some advice.  
  
"I suggest you attack Yami while he is swimming in the Nile," Bakura said thoughtfully remembering how Yami used to believe that it's healing waters would purify them from the blood in war. "Wait till emerges from the water, and then. ." Bakura blew out one of the candles in order to get his point across. The shadowed figure bowed slightly before disappearing from view. Malik immediately turned to Bakura,  
  
"That person. . . .T-they couldn't have been human!!" Malik stuttered. Bakura turned to face Malik and gave him a serious look.  
  
"Who said they were human?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rania: Well, that's the third chapter killed! Only a bazillion more to hunt! *Grabs hunting gear* While I kill them and bring them over you peoples read and review!!!  
  
[1]- Pawan means 'The Wind' in my language. The Ancient Egyptian language had been somewhat formed using my language as basis  
  
[2]- I should have put this in the second chapter, but I'm a little dim so I decided to put this in now. The Takshilla was based on a real army from India, called the Taxila.  
  
[3]- Yami and Bakura are in somewhat of a race to win the most land in the Egyptian territory.  
  
[4]- For Ra's sake!! He's covered in blood! He HAS to change!!  
  
[5]- I am perfectly aware that it's dangerous to have Malik and Bakura in the same house AND family, but now we can say that being psychotic runs in the family.  
  
[6]- The way Yami, Bakura, and other competitors win land is by gaining the pharaoh's rings and recognition. Each ring signifies a different province/city.  
  
[7]- It's one of those old fashioned spiky walls that closes in and turns you into a bloody pulp.  
  
~Replies to Reviewers From Chapter One~  
  
From Crouching Tigress:  
  
O__O wow can't wait for the next chapter  
  
C.T  
  
***********  
  
Reply: Thank you for reviewing! *gives a pixie stick*  
  
_________  
  
From Gin Ryu-Chan:  
  
Interesting story, but I believe you mean Kurai no Okoku, 'no' is kinda like 'of' but not really...it kinda show's possesion, like...  
  
'Watashi no tenshi', would be 'my angel',  
  
So, Okoku no kurai would be kingdom's black...and Kurai no okoku would be Kingdom of black...oh, and 'kurai' means 'black', if you're looking for 'darkness', it would be 'yami'.  
  
*********  
  
Reply: Ummmmm. . . Thanks for helping with my Japanese; I really need to work on it. I thank you very much! I don't pretend I know Japanese, so I'm wide open for critism on that!! *Hands over a baggie of pixie sticks*  
  
________  
  
From Dianne:  
  
Good story! Update soon!  
  
*********  
  
Reply: Thank you for reviewing! I'll try to update as soon as possible! Here! Pixie stick!!  
  
Shadowed figure in the background: Suuuuure. . .  
  
Rania: *blinks* Are you the weird assassin from before?  
  
Shadowed figure in the background: Uhhhhh, no?  
  
Rania: I'll deal with you later.  
  
_______  
  
From Hari ng Laro:  
  
Hi cuz! Really great story! How are things down in India? Well, I love your story; I hope you update soon! Can't wait to see you tonight at 7:00!  
  
*********  
  
Reply: Hi old cousin, old pal, old friend! It was great seeing you and NJ! Although, I'd have to say that my brother was a bit of a jerk, trying to push us into the shark pen and all. Well, India is very lovely and polluted. We can't see the sun at all. . .  
  
Shadowed figure in the background: Actually, we never could see the sun.  
  
Rania: Would you get out of here!!??!?!!?!?!!!!!  
  
Shadowed figure in the background: No. I like it here, despite your horrible writing style.  
  
Rania: *taking deep breaths* I remember you said you wanted to see Yuugi, right? Well, he should make an appearance in the next chapter.  
  
Shadowed figure in the background: Sure he will. .. .  
  
Rania: *glares at 'Shadowed figure in the background' and hands Hari ng Laro a pixie stick*  
  
----------------------------------Replies for Chapter Two------------------- ---------------------  
  
From Yami's Tenshi:  
  
Okay... This is weird. I thought I reviewed the first chapter, but apparently not. 0_0 Oh well. But I DID review the previous chapter! (still don't get it.) Anyway, I think it would be kinda bad for Yami to die with just one eye. I mean, not only would he be dead, but he would be missing an eye. ... Sorry, I'm getting off subject. VERY interesting chapter, here. Yami sounds kinda, well, crazy. That just might be me, but it was kinda interesting to read him like that. Please continue soon! I really want to see what happens next! So, C'ya! ^_^  
  
**********  
  
Reply: Well, you did review at one point; I saw your review on my email inbox thingy. I suppose it was deleted, because I did have more reviews than this. It's all very devastating when you lose eight reviews. I dunno, but you crack me up a lot. You're rather funny. Yes, Yami did seem a little crazy, didn't he? It was fun for me to make him seem a little insane, but if you were reading you could see that this chapter had a psychotic Bakura and Malik. I shall try to update soon, but don't get your hopes up. This chapter was very long and difficult to write. I shall try though!! *Give pixie stick and a 'Yami in Leather' plushie and a matching drawing of Yami in leather* Sorry if Yami's not your favorite character, I just guessed because your 'name' is 'Yami's Tenshi'. However! If you continue to review for each chapter you can win pixie sticks and an assortment of YGO plushies!! The one you have just received however is a one of a kind!! You are eternally on my favorite reviewers list.  
  
_______  
  
From SoulDreamer:  
  
really neat! continue soon!! thank you! ^.^  
  
**********  
  
Reply: Thank you! I'm so happy you like my ficcy! Here, have a pixie stick  
  
_______  
  
From VampssAmby10210:  
  
Hurry and write more soon! I can't wait!!  
  
**********  
  
Reply: Thank you oh so much for reviewing!!!!! Your fic, Children of the Future is one of my favorites! Pixie Stick!!!  
  
---------------------------------IMPORTANT MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!-------------- -----------------  
  
All right peoples!!! Whoever reviews my chapters will get:  
  
-Pixie Stick(s)  
  
The number you get varies on the review.  
  
-A Yu-Gi-Oh! Plushie  
  
I shall be custom designing them myself with 'Shadowed figure in the background'. If you have any ideas for plushies review your ideas, and I'll get to them, provided the waiting list is not longer than my fics.  
Also, people who have put me on their favorite authors or this fic on their favs will be given their own one of a kind plushie.  
  
-A Picture to go with the Plushie  
  
The picture will most likely be of the character in non-chibi form. For instance, instead of a chibi plushie of Yuugi and Yami hugging it would be a portrait of them in anime form. Not chibi, yet incredibly kawaii!  
  
-A Character in the Sequel (Later)  
  
I can understand if you are a bit surprised that I know I'm having a sequel already. But that is pretty much because I have planned the story out already, and it seems necessary that I make a sequel. For, some of you will most likely come to kill me if I leave the last chapter where it ends. I shall put up a notice when to submit character names and the needed info. near the end of the story. This would be the chance for you to be in this story, as long as you don't mind being somewhat evil. . .  
  
________  
  
Okies, that's that. The plushie for the next chapter is one of Prince Yami. We have Yami in a tight black shirt with a red eye of Horus embroidered on it; he shall also be wearing the traditional Egyptian jewelry. You know, the giant golden necklace and two gold wrist/armbands on each arm. He shall also don a purple cape that goes down to his toes, as well as white harem pants with a black and gold cord holding it up. He has his chibi little removable leather shoes with studded rubies, and a crown with the Sennen Eye that sort of spikes out along with his hair. And to top it all off you get a portrait of him standing in front of the palace he lives in with that cute cocky look of his. So hurry and review!! This is a limited time offer! 


	4. The Prisoner From Far Away

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The Demon in the Sword  
  
Chapter Four-The Prisoner From Far Away  
  
******************************  
  
By Tariki Rania  
  
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Disclaimer: If I owned YGO would I post this? I believe that it would be internationally shown on TV.  
  
NOTICE: the Malik in this story is the hikari. The yami comes later.  
  
/blah/ - thoughts  
  
******************************  
  
"What do you mean?" Malik asked with a surprised look on his face. Bakura sighed.  
  
"I mean exactly what I said. What's it matter to you?" Bakura snapped. Malik looked at Bakura with a sympathetic look and sighed. Bakura twitched. "What's with you?" He growled. Malik smiled in a funny way and replied,  
  
"You really need someone to hug," He said with a smirk, "You're so cold, someone should help you... ... ..." He said hugging Bakura, as if to tease him. Bakura hissed and pushed the sniggering Malik away. However, inwardly, Bakura thought to himself,  
  
/That would be nice... ... .../  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yami waded around in the cool waters of the Nile and drowsily and gently scrubbed the dried blood off of his tanned skin. He took a gulp of air and slid into the water, disappearing from sight.  
Another figure adorned in a heavy black cloak quickly sloshed in after him and whipped out a hidden sword adorned with rubies. It nervously moved through the water, feeling around for any signs of disturbance in the water. Malik and Bakura watched eagerly from the north tower, another figure peered over from the temple of Osiris, a priest probably. The spectators were eagerly awaiting a slaughter. The hooded figure moved around nervously searching for the 'unsuspecting' prince.  
  
Silently, the figure started wading into deeper waters. He/She was so nervous that they didn't notice Yami slowly rise up behind him/her. Yami grabbed the person's hand (the one with the sword) and put it to their throat.  
  
"I just want to know who sent you!" Yami growled as the struggling figure was pushed underwater.  
  
"I'll never tell! But I swear! Osiris shall take all your happiness! Just you wait!" He/She shouted. Yami snarled and pushed the assassin under water again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Zarbo [1]! They're doomed!" Malik cursed. Bakura sighed,  
"Time to get a new assassin." He said. Malik and Bakura took one last look at the drowning assassin and hurried off.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yami's eyes widened. Some other danger was approaching him. Fast. He quickly grabbed the barely alive assassin and held them up as a shield.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" The assassin yelled as an arrow pierced their heart. Yami frowned. The arrow had come from the Temple of Osiris. He was sure of it... ... ... He stopped pondering this when he saw a flash of golden light where the assassin had been. He gasped; he/she was gone! He looked around hesitantly. It still didn't feel safe. He slowly got out of the river and made his way toward the palace, looking over his shoulder.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Meanwhile, near the Temple of Osiris, Seto exited the ziggurat.  
  
"I can't believe we had to kill the sacrifices using bows and arrows just because some stupid prime minister came to visit... ... ..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Later that day, word got out that Chimeisho's scouts had caught a person from another province. This person was charged of mocking the royal family, although, barely anyone knew how they had done so... ... ...  
  
The prisoner sat inside the dungeon, he sniffed slightly and wiped a tear away from his emerald colored eyes and looked out the window, the dust particles were catching the sun's life giving rays. He sighed. He had to escape, not just for himself, but also for the royal family of Shaherazad [2]. He bit his lip; a distraction was almost necessary. Now, what could he do?  
  
Yami yawned boredly as he and the rest of the royal court and family waited in the large meeting room. They were waiting to meet the prisoner, so that they could learn some information. A few seconds later two guards walked in with a young boy whom was restrained with ropes. The court gasped, Bakura hissed slightly. What mockery was this? Who dared to imitate his appearance? Who the hell was this little nobody? That's it. He was nobody. Well, he must be good at disguises and make up in order to pull off having white spiky hair.  
The prisoner stared straight ahead firmly, although, Bakura could tell that this boy was extremely nervous.  
  
"State your name," the Pharaoh ordered lazily. The boy didn't respond. A guard snarled,  
  
"When the Pharaoh tells you to do something you do it bastard!" he yelled as he struck the boy across the face. The white haired boy was knocked over by the powerful hit, he whimpered as he tried to pull himself up to his feet; yet, he'd landed on his hip. Now he couldn't even stand. The guard approached him unmercifully with a sword in hand.  
  
"Stop," the pharaoh said. The guard gaped,  
  
"But sir, he defied your orders! Surely he must be punished!" He protested. The pharaoh rolled his eyes.  
  
"And yet, you defy my order to you as well?" He asked with a knowing look. The guard silenced himself. Probably a smart choice, Bakura thought. He began wondering what kinds of torture would await the prisoner when suddenly someone calling him jerked him back into reality.  
  
"Bakura?" The Pharaoh called out. Bakura blinked,  
  
"Yes father?"  
  
"Help the prisoner get to his feet." He ordered. Everyone's jaws fell open, what the hell was going on? Bakura, giving his father a queer look bent down and helped the boy up. The boy gave him a meaningful look and whispered in a soft trembling voice.  
  
"Thank you... ... ..." Bakura was going to give a sarcastic remark, but instead, shrugged it off. There was an uncanny silence before the pharaoh asked in a casual voice,  
  
"So, boy, what is your name?" The boy blinked and looked over at Bakura before answering.  
  
"Ryou. Ryou is my name." He said slowly. Malik raised an eyebrow,  
  
"Just Ryou? Isn't there a family name to go along with that?" He asked suspiciously, Ryou just sighed and shook his head.  
  
"I used to have a family name, but when the heirs to Shah –"He abruptly stopped speaking and looked down at his feet, perhaps he'd said too much.  
  
Yami frowned at this,  
  
/Only people who've been exiled lose their family name, can't see what he did though. I mean, people who're thieves get their hands cut off, and people who speak against the governments get their tongues cut off [3]. Yet, he's not missing anything, so what did he do to lose his family name? /  
  
"What was your name prior to losing your family name?" Yami asked curiously.  
  
Ryou blinked then shrugged,  
  
"I suppose it's okay to tell you that, my family name was Arukab, but I'm not telling you anything else." Malik scribbled the name 'Arukab' onto a piece papyrus paper, and then he asked,  
  
"What was your occupation? And where are you from?" Ryou frowned, why couldn't they leave him alone?  
  
"I was a priest, and I am from another province that descended from the Persian Empire." Ryou replied stiffly. Malik proceeded to scribble notes down. Seto frowned and asked,  
  
"What temple did you work most often in?" Ryou thought for a minute before answering,  
  
"I worked in the temple of Astarte. [4]"there was more scribbling from Malik. The pharaoh sighed; this person's land could a potential threat as well as opportunity. Yet, he still didn't know where Ryou was from, there was many a land from Persian decent. He would need a more thorough investigation. So he turned to a twitchy maid and ordered her to bring some clean clothes for Ryou. The maid squeaked and hurried off. A few seconds later she came back with a white tunic and matching pants. The pharaoh smiled 'kindly' at Ryou and said,  
  
"Why don't you freshen up in our springs? You must be very tired and dirty after your long trip." The pharaoh said as he handed the clothes to Bakura. "Bakura will help you!" He said pushing his son toward a suspicious Ryou. Bakura sighed and led Ryou out of the room. The pharaoh turned to Malik,  
  
"Get all the information and do as much research as possible!" He ordered, "We must discover where he's from!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Bakura led Ryou through the hallways of the palace until they were outside by a waterfall. Ryou looked around the springs; everything was sealed off by means of a large stone fence. Ryou sighed, there was no way he could escape, especially with this Bakura fellow watching him. Speaking of Bakura... ... ...  
  
"What are you so upset about?" Bakura asked with a frown as he put Ryou's new clothes on a nearby bench and handed Ryou a fluffy towel. Ryou looked over the fence longingly and said,  
  
"I just want to go home, after all, they're probably worried about me... ... ..." Ryou said glumly as he sat down on a stone. Bakura glanced at the miserable boy for a second before sighing and scratching his head,  
  
"Who's worried about you? I thought you were in exile," Bakura said narrowing his eyes. Ryou's eyes widened, he'd blabbed! He gave Bakura a guilty look,  
  
"Uh, my friends are worried for me . . ." Ryou said lamely. Bakura gave him a suspicious look and muttered,  
  
"Defying me is dangerous, but lying means certain death." Ryou gulped and murmured,  
  
"I can explain... ... ...You see... ... ..." Ryou was about to answer when Bakura's hand was placed over Ryou's mouth. Ryou did the first thing that came to mind and licked it. Disgusting, yes, but Bakura found this action rather amusing. He smirked.  
  
"Well! You've got some spunk... ... ... Fine, don't tell me, at least not yet." He said, Ryou smiled impishly and proceeded to undress. Bakura's eyes widened at a large scar across Ryou's back, from his right shoulder to a little above his waist. "Where... ... ...where did this come from?" Bakura asked his suspicion was peeking. Ryou bit his lip as Bakura ran his fingers along it.  
  
"I-I got this when I left the province from which I lived... ... ..."  
  
****************************************FLASHBACK*************************** **********  
  
Two people sat on a cloth in the middle of a large wheat field. They were both short; one was a man, the other a female. The man wore richly made royal attire and a headdress that assessed his importance; he removed his headdress and wiped his brow. His spiky black and garnet hair stuck out at all sides. His wife wore similar clothes; her waist length black hair and golden bangs glistened in the sun. Between them sat a young boy, with clear violet eyes and spiky gold, garnet, and black hair. They were the royal family of the province Shaherazad. Under their rule Shaherazad was peaceful and serene, the people were happy and fond of their royal family, their Pharaoh, Maaraw [5], the queen, Hikaru, and the young heir, Yuugi. They were happy, until one day, everything went wrong... ... ...  
  
"Oh! Ryou, you got temple duties off?" Maaraw asked, as he set out a picnic blanket in the middle of the wheat field as the white haired youth approached him. Ryou nodded and smiled. He was wearing a pale blue tunic with silver tassels and dark blue Capri pants with silver decorations; both article of clothing bore the Shaherazad symbol, the golden sun (A/N: I love that game ~^-^~) with a scroll behind it. Hikaru smiled happily at Ryou and told him that Yuugi would love to see him, the sound of cherubic laughing came from the stables as Yuugi came riding in on an a horse driven by a boy with messy blonde hair and playful amber eyes.  
  
"Your majesties," He said bowing, "I present to you, the heir to the Shaherazad, Prince Yuugi!" He said as he helped the boy get off of the white horse. Yuugi smiled at his friends and family and began laughing when he saw Ryou fall to his knees and 'beg for mercy'.  
  
"Oh Jounochi, you silly ibis!" Yuugi said pushing the general playfully. Ryou chuckled and got up and brushed the dirt off his silk pants. As he watched Jounochi run from Yuugi he thought he saw something shining off in the distance behind Maaraw and Hikaru. He shook his head and sighed, it must have been the sun's glare off the shining wheat. Speaking of wheat... ... ... Ryou snatched a ripe handful and snuck up behind Yuugi and tickled his exposed neck with the harvested stalks. Yuugi burst out into laughter as he and Jounochi grabbed their own stalks to fight back with.  
  
"Mama! Papa! Look at us!" Yuugi called out to his laughing parents. He turned to feast his eyes on his friends who were diving in and out of the wheat like fish. Suddenly, he heard a scream behind him; he turned. He screamed his parents were slashed and were lying in a puddle of their blood and tears. A figure dressed in a black cloak holding a sword wet with crimson blood rose out from the ground and pointed the sword at Yuugi. In a voice that was neither male nor female he/she said,  
  
"You're next!" With that he/she began charging at Yuugi, blade first. Yuugi screamed and tried to scramble away, but tripped. He felt someone scoop him up and run, fast.  
  
"R-Ryou!" Yuugi sobbed, "m-m-my parents!" He cried into Ryou's shoulder, Ryou was crying hard too, but was focusing his sorrow on running.  
  
"Ryou!" Jounochi yelled as he passed by the sobbing youth on his horse, "hurry!!!" Ryou nodded and started running toward the horse, but was cut off by the murderer whom ran between Ryou, Yuugi, and Jounochi's horse. "Noooooooo!" Jounochi screamed as the murderer lunged at Yuugi. Ryou's eyes widened.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Two screams filled the air. Jounochi lowered his bow, and carefully got off his horse and ran toward Ryou and Yuugi. He had shot the figure with a poisoned arrow through the heart. Yuugi was weeping hysterically over Ryou. As Ryou, in an attempt to save the heir had turned so that Yuugi didn't suffer the blow. Ryou had turned and gotten his back slashed by the figure's lethal blade. (A/N: I almost typed "the figure's lethal bladder" ^~;)  
  
"Ryou... ... ...A-are you okay?" Yuugi wept as Ryou wiped his tears away hastily and ran a hand over the wound in his back. Ryou bit his lip as he looked at the blood trickling off his pale fingers. He sighed and tried to get up, but winced and collapsed landing on his back Ryou's eyes bugged out as he screamed in agony. Jounochi quickly helped Yuugi pick the twitching Ryou up and load him on the horse. They started running out of town toward the forest when they heard someone yell out at them,  
  
"Run! Leave, if you come back, you'll have the same fate as those idiotic rulers!"  
  
******************************************END**FLASHBACK******************** *******  
  
Bakura frowned as he saw tears well up in Ryou's eyes, normally he would have scowled at Ryou's exposure of emotion, but in this case, he pushed his nature aside and muttered,  
  
"It's okay... ... ...You can tell me later... ... ..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
[1] -This is Arabic for shit.  
  
[2] -Shaherazad is actually the Persian princess from the story "A Thousand and One Arabian Nights", but for my purposes, it is another town.  
  
[3] -These were the original Babylonian punishments  
  
[4] -Astarte is the daughter of Ra, she was one of the Egyptian battlefield goddesses and one of the astral goddesses. She was also the daughter of the moon god, Sin. She is also known as _Ishtar_! *Squeals* Malik and Isis are named after a goddess!!!  
  
^-^ I told you that Yuugi would make an appearance! And, if not better, Ryou and Jounochi came in too!!!!!!! Please review; it makes me happy!  
  
Shadowed figure in the background: *grumbles* I was so sure she wouldn't put them into this chappie...  
  
Rania: *sticks tongue out* Nyah nyah!  
  
Shadowed figure in the background: *cries* another shadowed figure got killed!  
  
Rania: ^o^ Lookee! A bunny wabbit!!!!!!!!!  
  
( )__( )  
(=0.0=)  
( U U )  
^^ ^^ 


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